VandePoel Named Athlete of the Week

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia University women’s swimming and diving junior Haily VandePoel has been named the Varsity Sport Report Athlete of the Week.

VandePoel, a Holland, Mich., native won the 1-meter dive (297.55) and broke a school and pool record in the 3-meter dive (346.43) at the West Virginia State Games to start the regular season.

“Haily (VandePoel) has very high standards for herself, and breaking the pool record has been one of her goals this season,” diving coach Michael Grapner says. “I’m excited for her and proud of all the divers.”

“Once again, the divers had great days on the boards,” says coach Vic Riggs. “They are diving better at this point of the year than last year which is great.”

This Week in Women’s Soccer
The No. 9-ranked women’s soccer team hosts Kansas on Friday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m., for its final home game of the season ... seniors Kara Blosser, Sara Keane, Frances Silva and Caroline Szwed will be honored on Friday for Senior Night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

Last Week in Women’s Soccer
The Mountaineers continued their 13-game unbeaten streak in Big 12 Conference play ... WVU defeated Iowa State on Oct. 11, 2-0, in Morgantown ... WVU came back on Oct. 13 and downed TCU in overtime, 3-2.

Notes & Quotes
Junior forward Kate Schwindel tallied a team-high six points over the weekend, scoring two goals and recording two assists, including the game-winner in overtime against TCU on Oct. 13 ... senior Frances Silva brought her season point total to 31 after scoring two goals and an assist over the weekend ... Silva’s goal against TCU on Oct. 13 moved her into a tie for fifth place all-time in the program record book with 33 career goals ... Silva also is fifth with 86 career points ... sophomore defender Cari Price was credited with an assist on Schwindel’s goal against Iowa State on Oct. 11 ... sophomore forward Kelsie Maloney played a through-ball to Schwindel for the game-winner in OT against the Horned Frogs ... freshman defender Kadeisha Buchanan recorded her first career assist against TCU ... senior goalkeeper Sara Keane earned her fifth shutout this season on Oct. 11, the 22nd of her career.

Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown: “It’s tough when teams try to counter what you do well and sit in a little bit, not giving us the pockets we want to get. I thought we did a pretty good job of creating chances today, even when TCU was trying to take away our momentum. It was just a matter of us finishing.”

This Week in Men’s Soccer
The Mountaineers will host two non-conference opponents this week at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium … on Tuesday, Oct. 15, the Mountaineers will take on High Point, while hosting Georgia State on Saturday, Oct. 19 … both matches with kick off at 7 p.m.

Last Week in Men’s Soccer
West Virginia went 1-1 last week with a 3-1 victory over Stony Brook on Tuesday and a 1-0 loss to Mid-American Conference opponent Hartwick on Friday evening ... WVU’s record is now 5-6-1, including 1-2-0 in MAC play.

Notes and Quotes
WVU dominated possession in both games, out-shooting opponents by a combined 34-6 … goals against Stony Brook were knocked in by sophomore Majed Osman, junior Andy Bevin and an own goal … Bevin’s came on a penalty kick, while senior Craig Stephens assisted on Osman’s tally … Bevin continues to lead the Mountaineers in goals (6), assists (6) and points (18).

This Week in Volleyball
West Virginia hosts Robert Morris on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 6:30 p.m., and Kansas on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 6:30 p.m., at the WVU Coliseum.

Last Week in Volleyball
The Mountaineers fell to Baylor 3-0 at home on Wednesday, Oct. 9, and were downed at Iowa State 3-0 on Saturday, Oct. 12 ... West Virginia sits at 15-4 overall and 2-3 in Big 12 play.

Notes & Quotes
West Virginia has matched its highest win total in a single season since 2010 (15) … freshman Jordan Anderson was one kill short of her career high (17) against Baylor on Wednesday night ... WVU is 17-4 all-time against Robert Morris, with the Colonials winning the most-recent meeting last season in five sets.

This Week in Cross Country
The Mountaineers return to action with the PSU Nationals/Pre-Nationals on Saturday, Oct 19.

Last Week in Cross Country
WVU was idle, after posting an eighth-place finish at the Paul Short run on Saturday, Oct. 5.

Notes & Quotes
Senior Sarah Martinelli was named the Big 12 Runner of the Week following her performance at the Paul Short Run, where the Morgantown, W.Va., native set a personal-best time in the 6K ... the Mountaineers moved up one spot to No. 4 in the Mid-Atlantic Region last week, while also receiving votes in the national poll

This Week in Tennis
WVU women’s tennis returns to the courts this week at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regionals in Charlottesville, Va., from Oct. 18-21.

Last Week in Tennis
WVU women’s tennis was idle last week.

Notes & Quotes
Freshman Kaja Mrgole comes into the ITA Regionals with a team-high five wins in singles play.

This Week in Rifle
WVU rifle is idle this week.

Last Week in Rifle
The No. 5-ranked Mountaineers (2-0, 1-0 GARC) shot their first Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) match of the season at No. 9 Nebraska (0-1, 0-1 GARC), on Oct. 13, earning a 4656-4650 victory over the Cornhuskers… the Mountaineers won air rifle 2349-2335, while Nebraska won smallbore 2315-2307.

Notes & Quotes
Sophomore Garrett Spurgeon placed first in smallbore with a 584 score ... Spurgeon also placed second in air rifle with a score of 590 … junior Meelis Kiisk won air rifle with a 593 score and placed fifth in smallbore (577) … sophomore Patrick Sunderman placed third in air rifle, matching his career-best mark of 589 … senior Daniel Sojka placed 11th in smallbore (571) and improved in air rifle with a 582 mark for a 10th-place finish … senior Chance Cover took the seventh spot in smallbore (575) … redshirt-freshman Jean-Pierre Lucas tied his career-high smallbore score (571) and shot a career high (585) in air rifle.

Coach Jon Hammond: “We’re focused on the season as a whole. There were good things in our performance today, and we shot a good match. We’re going to be able to shoot some better scores this year and beat some good teams.”

This Week in Swimming & Diving
The Mountaineers hit the road to face Penn State in a dual-meet on Friday, Oct. 18, at 5 p.m., in University Park, Pa.

Last Week in Swimming & Diving
The Mountaineers hosted the third annual West Virginia State Games, featuring seven other schools from West Virginia ... both squads finished first overall ... the women finished with 1,666 points, while the men finished with 2,958 points.

Coach Vic Riggs “I’m really proud of how we raced this weekend. We ended up doing a full three-day championship meet schedule in a little over 25 hours. We had a great morning session where we made some adjustments from last night’s swims and in warming up for our races.”

This Week in Rowing
WVU rowing is idle this week.

Last Week in Rowing
WVU rowing is idle last week.

Notes & Quotes
The Mountaineers claimed four victories at the Head of the Ohio on Oct. 5 ... senior Courtney Schrand has three gold medals this fall.